Kang Sogun

Kang Sogun said, looking at the documents about the Heavenly Martial Faction.

"According to the information written here, he seems to be a truly great strategist. But the recent moves and military tactics of the Heavenly Martial Faction were somewhat clumsy."

"Clumsy?"

"Yeon Seongyeol of the Three Blade Sect had a high reputation in the Wuhan area. Although he was a martial artist, he was also a man of outstanding business acumen, so if I were Gu Yeongang, I would have embraced Yeon Seongyeol."

"Isn't that why he proposed a marriage alliance?"

Kang Sogun shook his head.

"If he had investigated Yeon Seongyeol a little, he would have known that it would have been much better to approach him with an economic alliance to share profits rather than a marriage alliance. Nevertheless, the fact that he pushed Yeon Seongyeol to a dead end must be seen as another intention being involved."

No Ichil was lost in thought.

Although he looked like a naive merchant on the outside, he was the tenth hall master of the Great Righteous Martial Hall, who handled the information of the world. It meant that his ability to collect and analyze information was outstanding.

Even so, it was difficult for him to understand Kang Sogun's words. In his view, it seemed that Kang Sogun was interpreting the situation too much of a leap.

'Great Warrior Kang is a member of the imperial family, so it seems he sees matters too complicatedly.'

The imperial family and the court were a den of demons. It was a place where those who smiled in front would stab you in the back.

Since it was a place where all sorts of conspiracies and schemes were rampant to seize power, one had to be careful and cautious even with a single word or action.

Just because one was careful did not guarantee one's safety. The imperial family was a place where one could protect one's life, power, and property only by constantly reading the surrounding situation and the intentions of the people.

No Ichil, thinking of Kang Sogun's origin, did not think any deeper.

"Another intention? Aren't you seeing it too complicatedly? Gu Yeongang is one of the ten great masters of the world. He probably wouldn't have even considered the Three Blade Sect."

'Gu Yeongang might be like that, but if it were the strategist Jo Gaeryang, he should have made a different choice.'

Kang Sogun was still suspicious, but he did not say any more.

No Ichil changed the subject.

"How are Miss Yeon's injuries?"

"She will be fine."

"I am truly ashamed. I had guaranteed Miss Yeon's safety to you, but to think that such a thing would happen."

No Ichil apologized repeatedly.

Kang Sogun stood up from his seat and guided No Ichil to the tea room on one side of the living room.

The two sat facing each other at the tea table.

Kang Sogun stirred the brazier with a poker, added charcoal, and then placed the teapot on it.

No Ichil, who was quietly watching Kang Sogun, opened his mouth.

"With this incident, a battle between the Heavenly Martial Faction and the Great Righteous Martial Hall has become unavoidable. Even if it's not the Ten Guests of Heavenly Martial, the fact that the Ghost Shadow Brigade harmed a disciple of the Jeongha Martial Hall is something that cannot be overlooked."

Hyeong Uncheon was jumping up and down, saying that he should immediately lead all the forces of the Great Righteous Martial Hall and punish the Heavenly Martial Faction.

Kang Sogun was not interested in the affairs of the martial world. He boiled the tea water without a word, brewed the tea, and poured it into No Ichil's cup.

No Ichil drank the tea and admired it without realizing it.

"Hmm."

No Ichil disguised himself as a merchant who bought and sold tea. So he had drunk a lot of tea. Although he knew that the same tea was different depending on the person who brewed it, he had not known that there would be such a difference.

"This is the first time I've known that Xinyang Maojian tastes like this."

No Ichil admired it again and then put down his teacup and asked abruptly.

"Is the reason you came back all the way just because of Miss Yeon?"

Kang Sogun silently drank his tea.

No Ichil sighed lightly and continued.

"Why are you avoiding the crown prince?"

Zhu Zhanji, who had come to the Jeongha Martial Hall, had looked for Kang Sogun first. Kang Sogun was delaying the meeting with the excuse of treating Yeon Hwasim.

"It is a relationship that has already ended."

Kang Sogun answered briefly. No Ichil sighed inwardly.

'If relationships could be broken so easily, there would be no reason for the world's affairs to be so complicated.'

In No Ichil's view, it did not seem that Zhu Zhanji would let Kang Sogun go.

The ones who were in a difficult position between Zhu Zhanji and Kang Sogun were Shangguan Qingyou and No Ichil.

No Ichil sighed lightly and said.

"The Great Righteous Martial Hall supports the crown prince."

Kang Sogun silently drank his tea.

Although there was a saying that the court and the martial world were mutually non-aggressive, in reality, several sects were connected to the court.

The fact that the Great Righteous Martial Hall was connected to the crown prince was not a surprising fact.

"The Prince of Han is crouching in Luo'an, Shandong, and is aiming for the imperial throne. The Prince of Zhao is also quiet in Pengde, Henan, but he is also a man with his own ambitions."

No Ichil had been traveling the world and had been grasping the movements of the crown prince's political enemies.

"Although the current emperor is gaining the people's hearts by practicing benevolent rule, the fact that he is sickly is a concern for the court."

Kang Sogun thought of his uncle, Zhu Gaochi. Although he was a man of gentle character and high reputation, his body was weak, and since his time as crown prince, he had been oppressed by his half-brothers, the Prince of Han and the Prince of Zhao.

"Duke Kang of the state had long supported the current emperor. If he were alive, the safety of the imperial family would not have been shaken like this."

Duke Kang of the state was Kang Sogun's deceased father.

The reason No Ichil mentioned Kang Sogun's father was to ask him to lend a hand for Zhu Zhanji.

Kang Sogun just quietly drank his tea and said nothing.

"You also know that you can't avoid the crown prince forever."

Only then did Kang Sogun put down his teacup and say quietly.

"Tell him that I will visit him soon."

***

The office of Gu Yeongang, deep in the Heavenly Martial Hall of the Heavenly Martial Faction.

The two sons of the Heavenly Martial Faction Master, Gu Yeongang, were sitting in front of him.

The eldest son, Gu Yangjo, passed the report he was reading to his younger brother, Gu Yangsu. Gu Yangsu read the report. The report summarized the results of the expedition related to the Three Blade Sect.

Gu Yangsu finished reading the report and placed it on the writing desk in front of Gu Yeongang.

Gu Yeongang asked his sons.

"What do you think?"

"We have suffered greater losses than expected."

Gu Yangjo answered first.

"Even if the Heaven's Mandate Brigade and the Black Horse Brigade, which were defeated first, could not be helped, the subsequent damage could have been prevented."

Gu Yeongang silently looked at Gu Yangsu. Gu Yangsu reluctantly answered.

"For seven of the Ten Guests of Heavenly Martial to be defeated, he is a truly amazing bastard."

"Don't you think it's strange?"

Gu Yeongang asked again.

Gu Yeongang was not a simple martial brute. If he had been, he would not have been able to raise a small sect in the north of Hubei to one of the Four Great Powers of the world.

'To have suffered such damage because of that one bastard?'

It was clear that the bastard named Kang Sogun was a master. But the military brigades of the Heavenly Martial Faction had been broken one after another, and seven of the Ten Guests of Heavenly Martial had died. For him, it was an incomprehensible damage.

'With that much military power, depending on how it was operated, even the Flying Heavenly Divine Sword could have been caught.'

The head of the ten great masters and the number one in the world, the Flying Heavenly Divine Sword, Shangguan Wuying.

He was the only enemy that Gu Yeongang had in his heart.

Although Shangguan Wuying was a solitary existence without a force, his importance in the martial world was greater than any other sect.

Gu Yeongang wanted to become the number one in the world and the number one hegemon in the world. To do that, he had to defeat Shangguan Wuying someday.

That was the reason he was constantly engrossed in martial arts training.

Gu Yangjo knew the reason why Gu Yeongang had called them and was asking.

Gu Yeongang was asking about Jo Gaeryang.

Although Gu Yeongang had placed Jo Gaeryang as a strategist and had given him a lot of authority, he did not completely trust him inwardly.

"Strategist Jo probably did not expect him to be such an outstanding master. If he has the skill to kill the Twin Halberds of Noisy Death with one spear, he must be considered to be on par with the ten great masters."

Gu Yangjo defended Jo Gaeryang.

Gu Yeongang nodded as if he had known his eldest son would do so and then asked Gu Yangsu.

"Do you think so too?"

Gu Yangsu flinched and then said.

"In my opinion, it seems so."

Gu Yeongang glared at his two sons.

'Pathetic bastards.'

Although the eldest son, Gu Yangjo, was outstanding in martial arts, he had a soft side. Although people praised his amiable personality, it seemed lacking to Gu Yeongang, who had the thought that the leader of a faction that would contend for the world had to be ruthless.

The second son, Gu Yangsu, spent his days frequenting brothels or hanging out with idlers.

Gu Yeongang lamented inwardly. Although his deceased third son was still young, he had a ruthless side, like himself in his youth. If he had raised him well, he could have made him his successor.

But even if he regretted it, his dead son would not come back to life. Gu Yeongang shook off his lingering attachment and said in a stern voice.

"From ancient times, there have been more than one or two countries or factions that have been ruined by trusting only the words of those called strategists."

Gu Yeongang said, his gaze on the report on the desk.

"The collapse of a dam begins with a small crack. The leader of a faction should always look after his subordinates."

Gu Yangjo and Gu Yangsu bowed their heads.

"You may go."

As his sons left, Gu Yeongang stood up, walked around his office, and then suddenly asked.

"Cheonsal!"

Someone answered from the air.

"Speak."

"I need to look into Jo Gaeryang's origin again. Send me someone who is skilled in tracking."

Jo Gaeryang, who had come to the Heavenly Martial Faction, had said that he was from a fallen family of scholars. It was a matter of course that Gu Yeongang had confirmed this.

According to the person who had investigated, as Jo Gaeryang had said, there had been a Jo family that had been passed down for generations in Luoyang, and since the line was thin, only Jo Gaeryang was left in this generation.

Gu Yeongang had been bothered by the report that had only gathered the surrounding stories, and he was going to look into it more closely this time.

'A change will soon come to the court, and the martial world will also be in turmoil. To have lost so much military power at a time like walking on thin ice.'

Gu Yeongang was a man who trusted his intuition. He instinctively felt that something was going wrong with this incident.

It was not just because of the loss of the military brigades. The military power of the Heavenly Martial Faction, which had been secretly cultivated, hiding the eyes and ears of the martial world, was more than enough to cover the losses.

The secret report that had come in this time had further fueled that uneasy feeling.

The six guests of Heavenly Martial, Son Jo and the others, had surely returned alive. But Jo Gaeryang had killed them on the spot. Since Jo Gaeryang had used his own hands, no one would know this fact.

If it had not been for the eyes and ears that he had attached just in case, it was a situation that even Gu Yeongang would have passed by without knowing.

'Jo Gaeryang, if you think of me as a mere martial brute, you will be in for a big surprise.'

Gu Yeongang's eyes shone sinisterly.

***

"General Kang has arrived."

Zhu Zhanji's guard announced.

Zhu Zhanji was standing by the window of a cozy guest hall. Kang Sogun slowly approached and performed the proper etiquette without a word. Zhu Zhanji, who had been looking out the window, slowly turned around.

From Zhu Zhanji, who had a rather large build, the dignified majesty of a crown prince emanated. A bright light flowed from his eyes.

Zhu Zhanji and Kang Sogun were the two grandsons that the previous emperor had cherished. Although Zhu Zhanji was a year older and was the older brother, they had played together and had grown up together when they were young.

Zhu Zhanji's expression became serious.

"You are disregarding the laws of the country too much. No matter how much the previous emperor cherished you, to leave the military on your own and disappear!"

Kang Sogun did not move from his posture of performing the proper etiquette.

"And are you going to disregard even the laws of the imperial family? I am the crown prince, in name! For you not to come even when I call!"

Zhu Zhanji, as if he were thinking of showing his dignity, put on a serious face and scolded him.

Kang Sogun was silent. It was as if he were shouting at a stone wall.

At Kang Sogun's stubborn attitude, Zhu Zhanji sighed.

"Hui, why on earth are you doing this?"

Kang Sogun straightened his back. The eyes looking at Zhu Zhanji were indifferent.

"The man named Kang Hui does not exist in the world. He already died in the north a long time ago."

Zhu Zhanji's eyes widened.

"You, in the end..."

Zhu Zhanji was speaking but then stopped and paced back and forth in the guest hall.

After a long silence, Zhu Zhanji stopped and stared at Kang Sogun.

"Are you doing this because of General Jang Hong's family?"

Kang Sogun's brow twitched, but he did not answer.

Zhu Zhanji sighed and said.

"The previous emperor also regretted ousting General Jang Hong right away. It was such a plausible slander that even I, who was by his side, could not grasp the situation properly."

Anger welled up on Kang Sogun's face.

"Although the previous emperor and you, older brother, were deceived by the slander, the dead cannot come back."

Kang Sogun stared at Zhu Zhanji and spat out coldly.

(End of Chapter)